Sina Shakes Sohu Blues

The second Chinese Internet stock to report earnings Tuesday does a sight better than its rival.
By George Mannes ,

Updated from Feb. 3

Investors in Chinese Internet stocks shouldn't have to relive yesterday's misery today, thanks to

Sina

(SINA) - Get Report

.

The company posted a fourth-quarter profit Tuesday night, meeting the expectations of the lone major sell-side analyst in the U.S. who covers the stock. The results stand in stark contrast to those of rival portal

Sohu.com

(SOHU) - Get Report

, which

stumbled Tuesday after issuing disappointing results Monday evening.

Sina's shares, which were dragged down by Sohu's results in Tuesday's trading, recovered somewhat after the company's results were released. The stock, which dropped $3.79, or 8%, to close at $43.10 Tuesday, rose $1.50 Wednesday morning to $44.60. Sohu added 28 cents to $30.69.

The stock of Sina, Sohu.com and a third portal,

NetEase.com

(NTES) - Get Report

, climbed sharply over the past year and have moved sharply on good and bad news since then. Depending on one's outlook, they represent either a chance to share in the growth of the Chinese Internet economy, or simply a replay of the U.S. Internet stock bubble.

For the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, Sina reported revenue of $38.3 million, nearly triple the revenue reported in the fourth quarter of 2002. Piper Jaffray analyst Safa Rashtchy, who has an outperform rating on the stock, had forecast $35.9 million in revenue.

On the bottom line, the company reported pro forma net income of $15.9 million, or 28 cents per diluted share. The company reported 4 cents in EPS a year earlier, and Rashtchy had forecast 25 cents per share.

The company fell short on EPS based on generally accepted accounting principles, however. Including items such as a $6.1 million impairment loss related to Sun Media, the company reported GAAP earnings of 16 cents a share, compared to Rashtchy's forecast of 25 cents.

Cash flow from operating activities for the full year of 2003 amounted to $45.9 million, the company said, up from $4.6 million the prior year.

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